Elderly woman queues 2 hours for CDC vouchers at community centre, only to find tenant had claimed them
After waiting in line for two hours to collect her Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers, one elderly woman was told that they had already been claimed.
The reason? Her long-term tenant had claimed them online by mistake.
The tenant surnamed Chu told 8world that she only realised her blunder following a phone call from her landlord on Thursday (Jan 4).
It was her first time claiming CDC vouchers, said the tenant.
As the renovation of her new home in Clementi was expected to be completed this month, Chu had thought that she was claiming the vouchers issued to her new address.
While she offered to print out the vouchers and return them, the elderly landlord told Chu she was unfamiliar with using the vouchers and asked if she could give her $500 in cash instead.
Chu also wanted to remind home sellers to collect their CDC vouchers at a later date so as to avoid getting into a situation like hers.
"There are many tenants in Singapore, and they may claim the landlord's vouchers by mistake.
"Secondly, there are many home sellers who have not moved out after the transaction, and it is easy for the seller to receive the home buyer's vouchers by mistake."
Chu said that she plans to collect her household's CDC vouchers after moving into her new home and applying for a change of address.
What to do if someone else claims your vouchers?
Chu also urged CDC to take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
"Why did the system allow me to claim her vouchers? It'd be better if only the homeowner is allowed to claim the vouchers," she said.
According to an FAQ by the Community Development Council, the claims page will display the name of the person who has claimed the vouchers on behalf of the household.
If the individual belongs to another household staying at the same address, residents should visit their nearest community centre to apply for the CDC vouchers.
They should bring their NRIC, and any one of the relevant documents to show proof of household (e.g proof of previous overseas employment / proof of overseas address / tenancy agreement / proof of new resident e.g. taking/handing over keys).
Since the launch of the $500 CDC vouchers on Wednesday (Jan 3), about 60 per cent of 1.27 million Singaporean households have claimed their vouchers, wrote Low Yen Ling, Mayor of the South West District and chairwoman of the mayors' committee in a Facebook post on Friday.
About $8 million in CDC vouchers were been spent at participating heartland merchants, hawkers and supermarkets.
ALSO READ: 'With these vouchers we can save quite a bit': Elderly folks brave rain to collect CDC vouchers from Bukit Panjang CC
lim.kewei@asiaone.com
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